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"419" Scam – Advance Fee / Fake Lottery Scam

• About the 419 (Advance Fee) scam
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• Frequently asked Questions (419 FAQ)
• Phone numbers used by 419 scammers
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Victims never receive this non-existent fortune but are tricked into sending their money to the criminals, who remain anonymous. They hide their real identity and location by using fake names and fake postal addresses as well as communicating via anonymous free email accounts and mobile phones.

Read more about such scams here or in our 419 FAQ. Use the Scam-O-Matic to verify suspect emails.

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Some comments by the Scam-O-Matic about the following email:

• The following phrases in this message should put you on alert:
  • "dear sir/madam" (a standard Nigerian greeting phrase)
  • "search for a reliable person" (a common phrase found in 419 scams)
  • "a security company " (this will cost you money - be careful with upfront payments to anyone you only know through email, especially if they promise you a lot of money. Never ever send money by Western Union or MoneyGram to people you do not know personally. )
• This email message is a 419 scam. Please see our 419 FAQ for more details on such scams.
  

Fraud email example:

From: "Hon ifeanyi Okowa" <okowa@ssg.com>
Reply-To: "Dekan FPE" <honifeanyiokowa@live.com>
Date: Mon, 08 Sep 2008 02:32:11 +0800 (MYT)
Subject: BUSINESS TRANSACTION IN LONDON


BUSINESS TRANSACTION IN LONDON

Dear Sir/Madam,

My name is Dr Ifeanyi Okowa,chairman of contract award and monitoring committee of the ministry of industry and international trade development,my duty as empowered by the Delta State Government is to provide the basic amenities,social recreational activities in urban and rural areas.This program includes assistance to deprived local communities and to co-ordinate projects and development at the National level.

Furthermore,from this projects we were able to realize some reasonable amount of U.S $25.5(Twenty five million five hundred thousand US.dollars only) as commission from various contractors resulting from over invoicing of payment receipts/vouchers hence all the necessary approvals has been completed.These approved funds were packaged and dispatched through a security company for onward delivery to its destination in London.The money was first deposited into a security vault before we arrange for its movement to London through diplomatic channel using decoy purporting that the fund belongs to an expatriate/company.

I have been in search for a reliable person/company of high integrity /dignity and one with conscience who will travel to London to claim this fund on our behalf as the beneficiary.We are Government officials, the oath of office does not allowed us to operate foreign bank account,hence i contacted you to stand as the beneficiary and claim the fund on our behalf from the holding Security company in London.

We have agreed to give you 45% of the total sum as commission for your assistance/effort and 5% will be used to settle every expenses incurred, we will use 50% to invest under your recommendation/guide and go into joint venture business with you .I would greatly appreciate your assistance and I look forward to your response as soon as possible through this e-mail (honifeanyiokowa@live.com).

Best Regards,
Dr Ifeanyi Okowa.

Anti-fraud resources:

• What can you do when you receive 419 spam